June 07, 2005
Flyer for Presentation "Confidence in the Future: Succeed and Prosper in the Information Renaissance"
Presentation
Professor of Informaton and Communication Sciences (Ball State University)
Visiting Fellow (Harris Manchester College)
Dr. Jay Edwin Gillette
Confidence in the Future:
Succeed and Prosper in the Information Renaissance
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Live at... AND via Video Conference ... Solution Center |
 Dr. Jay Gillette |
Download the flyer in PDF format...
June 02, 2005
Renaissance: etymology, encyclopedia and enchantment, with a DCC twist
Let me preface this whole entry by saying that the 3rd "E"in the title is probably a bit of a stretch, but I wanted to use a clever mnemonic device, so sue me!
The inspiration for this entry for me came after some recent readings into the wiki phenomena. It is an area of research for the current Distributed Collaborative Community project in the Human Factors Institute for User Centered Design, Development and Deployment. Perhaps as a great and lucky fortune or some other positive omen, two fascinating mainstream news articles on the topic fell into my lap this week. The current issues of both Time and Wired look at the wiki phenomena and its impact on the scholarly encyclopedia.
Out of some natural curiosity, I wanted to see what type of wiki-based information would be available on the Renaissance, so I turned to the standard-bearer of wiki-based encyclopedia information, Wikipedia ("the free encyclopedia"). Hence, the second "E" from the title.
The first"E" comes from my readings into the Wikipedia article on the Renaissance, which includes fascinating detail on the origins of the term and its inclusion into scholarly discourse...
HistoriographyRenaissance is a French word coined by French historian Jules Michelet, and expanded upon by Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt in the 19th century, that literally means rebirth. Rebirth is used in two ways. First, it means rediscovery of ancient classical texts and learning and their applications in the arts and sciences. Second, it means that the results of these intellectual activities created a revitalization of European culture in general. Thus it is possible to speak of the Renaissance in two different but meaningful ways: A rebirth of classic learning and knowledge through the rediscovery of ancient texts, and a rebirth of European culture in general. Multiple RenaissancesDuring the last quarter of the 20th century many scholars took the view that the Renaissance was perhaps only one of many such movements. This is in large part due to the work of historians like Charles H. Haskins (1870–1937), who made a convincing case for a "Renaissance of the 12th century," as well as by historians arguing for a "Carolingian renaissance." Both of these concepts are now widely accepted by the scholarly community at large; as a result, the present trend among historians is to discuss each so-called renaissance in more particular terms, e.g., the Italian Renaissance, the English Renaissance, etc. This terminology is particularly useful because it eliminates the need for fitting "The Renaissance" into a chronology that previously held that it was preceded by the Middle Ages and followed by the Reformation, which many believe to not be accurate. The entire period is now often replaced by the term "Early Modern". (See periodisation, Lumpers and splitters) Other periods of cultural rebirth have also been termed a "renaissance"; such as the Harlem Renaissance or the San Francisco Renaissance. The other renaissances are not considered further in this article, which will concentrate on the Renaissance as the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age.
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Enchantment, the last "E" (the "bit of a stretch"...) comes from my interest in the density of material from this article. It alone has a plethora of hyperlinks to other resources. It is a truly enchanting place from which to launch further discourse as we venture into the depths of the Information Renaissance. But that, my friends, is a discussion for another time...